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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE MORNING REPORT Friday, April 25, 2014 INCIDENTS Grand Canyon NP Visitors Rescued From Raft Stuck In Colorado River During the morning of April 21st, one of the 37-foot rafts being used on a commercial river trip got caught on rocks in Badger Rapids. River guides worked unsuccessfully for several hours to free the stuck raft before requesting assistance around 4 p.m. Given the potentially dangerous situation of the raft coming off the rocks in the middle of the night due to fluctuating river levels, Grand Canyon's helicopter crew removed ten people from the raft via helicopter short-haul. Later that night, with additional resources and reduced weight on the raft, guides were able to free the vessel. Badger Rapids is the first set of rapids on the Colorado River. They're located approximately eight miles downstream from the launch site at Lee's Ferry. Ranger Cori Conner served and the incident commander. A short NPS video of the rescue operation can be viewed at HYPERLINK "http://youtu.be/3S_uIg1d7k0" http://youtu.be/3S_uIg1d7k0. [Brandon Torres, Branch Chief of Emergency Services] Presidio Of San Francisco Traffic Stop Leads To Seizure of Drugs, Explosives On Tuesday, April 22nd, Park Police officers from the San Francisco Field Office conducted a traffic stop in the Presidio for an expired registration. On scene investigation led to the seizure of a significant amount of marijuana and an explosive device. The immediate area was evacuated and the San Francisco Police Department emergency ordinance disposal team responded to safely detonate the device. Further investigation by the Park Police led to the seizure of additional narcotics and drug paraphernalia from the suspect's residence. [Captain Gregory T. Monahan, San Francisco Field Office] OTHER NEWS The following stories are among those in today's webpage editions of InsideNPS (available to NPS employees only) and the Morning Report (available to all readers): Office of Communications - Secretary Jewell and Director Jarvis marked National Park Week yesterday by announcing the designation of four new national historic landmarks, ranging from a ground-breaking mural in Detroit to the farm of a prominent 20th century statesman. Park Facility Management Division - The March/April issue of Park Facility Management Division Update is now available online. A link is provided to both current and past editions. Gulf Islands NS - In celebration of National Park Week, the park is sponsoring a series of eight paddles from one end of the Florida District to the other end this week Chattahoochee NRA - Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area has received the Georgia Environmental Education Association's Award for Outstanding Service to Environmental Education. Pacific West Region - Bernadette Lovato has been selected as the new superintendent for Manzanar National Historic Site. She will take on her new duties in June. Canyonlands NP - After a career spanning some 40 years, Paul Henderson, assistant superintendent for the Southeast Utah Group, has announced his retirement, effective May 3rd. To see the full text of these stories, readers should go to one or the other of the following sites: NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index Non-NPS employees - HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/" http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/ The Morning Report is produced by the Office of Communications with the support of the Office of the Associate Director for Information Resources. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov). --- ### --- |